I Am Ashamed to be a Pakistani!

Today was yet another sad day for me. The political situation in Pakistan hit me hard today. I am mad, angry, upset, furious and sad! All because my very own sister was hurt and beaten by the Pakistani policemen!

There was supposed to be a peaceful rally at Garden Town, near Punjab University, to protest Imran Khan's arrest. Men and women of all ages were there, including Imran Khan's sisters (who were later arrested as well). My mom, aunt, uncle, cousin and I were to go to the rally as well. We were all wearing black to show solidarity for Imran Khan. We were also to protest against the imposition of emergency. Just as we were getting ready to leave home, dad calls me up on the phone and asks us all to stay home because the police have started beating the people who had gathered there, even before the protest had started.

We panicked at home. My sister Areej was there, along with her work colleagues, Zainab and Hassan. My aunt and her daughter were there too! Mom and I panicked. We worried if she was safe. Trying to call frantically, phones were not accessible. I messaged Areej, and she called back mom. She was in hysterics as Hassan, her colleague, was beaten up badly and arrested!! She was in tears!! Pakistani police are notorious for manhandling people and torturing them. Hassan was being beaten up by the police: shoved around, using baton sticks to hit him all over, to the point where he fell down on the ground. Our driver quickly came and laid himself onto Hassan, but the police started beating Nasir too! So badly was he beaten, he was eventually lifted up and taken to the van.

In the meantime, Areej and my cousin fell down on the ground trying to revive Hassan. Screaming out for help, no one bothered to help her. People were standing there just watching. Screaming ever so loudly for help, no one helped her. A policeman came and started lifting Hassan up. Areej tried preventing them from taking Hassan away. The policeman started swearing at her, and hit her on her arm badly to the point where it was bruised. She tried fighting back, but being a woman and smaller than the stout policeman, she couldn't put up a fight. He started swearing to Areej (the kind of foul language one hears in Urdu--too foul for me to even mention here!) Areej fought back and started swearing at the policeman for roughening up her and other woman. How shameless for a Pakistani policeman to roughen up a woman! She was helpless as the police dragged Hassan away!

Thankfully, dad was able to meet up with Areej at the place, and dad arranged for all the girls to get into a car and leave the area as the situation had gotten out of control! She came back home, crying so much, and so panicked for Hassan. I personally know Hassan too, and I was just so furious as to what the police did to Hassan, to Areej and my cousin! I was just ashamed to be in a country where the policemen were ready to mistreat anyone on the government's orders!

We made call to Hassan's parents and fiance, and they naturally panicked a lot. The four hours we spent in agony trying to find out where Hassan and our driver Nasir went to were the longest four hours. This prison? That prison? We soon found out they were being transported to another jail. Dad's phones were switched off for an hour in between causing me and mom to panic, wondering if dad was arrested too. Dad called us eventually. He was safe.

Thankfully, Hassan and Nasir were released in the evening, after much interrogation. Our driver proved his loyalty to my dad as he refused to say anything that would help the police arrest my dad. They interrogated Hassan a lot too.

Because I know Hassan well, and because my own sister was caught up in such a messy and dirty situation, I was just mad and upset at the whole thing. President Musharraf has clearly gone mad, trying to do anything in his control to silence the opposition. But I think he has made a major misjudgment with the imposition of emergency. Students at LUMS are holding candle vigils and hunger strikes daily; students at Beaconhouse University are daily protesting on campus; people are now wearing black armbands and labels on their clothes to express their desire for Musharraf to leave. I have never seen such an unpopular leader in my lifetime ever!!!

Coming home at night, I caught on the news channel the incident of today. "25 PTI members were arrested" and the camera panned on to Areej, down on her knees, trying to revive Hassan and screaming out for help. My heart just sank. What a shameful day for the nation!

My friends, we are living in a time today when people from good well-off to families are being beaten up, mistreated, manhandled and tortured this way. All in Pakistan: the land of the pure! If the people can manhandle, torture and beat up a national hero like Imran Khan, imagine what they could do with a common man! Imran's wife, Jemima, and Jemima's mother are making calls to Bush, Sarkozy, high up people in other government to put pressure on Musharraf to resign! Musharraf has already sent his family abroad, because he knows his and his family's life are in danger!

We are thankful they didn't arrest Areej because had they done that, they would have interrogated her so much to the point where they would come after my dad. Now both Areej and I have to keep a low profile. If I get arrested then they could torture me because I am the son of a leader of the political party of which my dad belongs to. Our phones may now be tapped. Musharraf is leaving no one. He wants everyone who raises a voice against his military dictatorship in prison.

Not much time is left for Musharraf now. There is a serious movement of the mass public now from all parties. If people like us don't stand up for what's right, then who will? If the silent majority stays silent any longer, Pakistan will be finished. More and more rich people, well off students are joining the mass movement against the government. Media is very clever as it doesn't portray all this. Media has been curbed, and Musharraf has allowed only those channels back on air who have signed an agreement to not ridicule or portray Musharraf in a negative light. So much for "freedom of press" and "freedom of speech!"

It's a messed up a situation, all the while Musharraf continues to delude himself ever so blindly he is the savior of democracy!!!

I am again ashamed to be a Pakistani today!!!

Mansur